by Kailin Gow
“Great,” he said. We walked over to the treadmills and I had a huge grin on my face. I knew this was the time of day where the Golden Oldies work-out sessions took place and that they took up most of the treadmills.
“Are these even available?” Ralph asked me.
“There aren’t enough members to use them all up. You’ll be fine.”
He started to walk toward the one on the end and I said, “Wait, you’ll want to go to that one.” I pointed in the center of the group and added, “This one has a horrible track and I’m not sure why, but they can’t seem to figure it out. A new one was ordered, but it hasn’t arrived yet.” It was bullshit.
Ralph walked to the center of treadmill alley and went on the one open treadmill in the center. On each side of him was a Golden Oldie working out, and they were both talking to each other over him. Shouting, actually because of the loudness of the treadmill and their hard-of-hearing. They were into the social aspect of working out and it was a whole different thing for them than it was for a guy like me when I went to the club.
They all turned to look at Ralph and started chatting away. I saw him talking with them, but I could see that he really didn’t appreciate it. My smile widened and eventually I broke out into a huge burst of laughter when I saw his nose wrinkle up. Someone had passed some gas over there and it had assaulted his nostrils. This joy was so juvenile, but I didn’t care. It was my little bit of revenge on Ralph for all the turmoil he’d put me through by becoming engaged to Lina, the most exquisite woman I’d ever seen.
As I watched him go, I talked with a few fans casually and purposely forgot about the time until Bixby finally came back over to me fifteen minutes later.
“All warmed up?” He nodded. “Great, let’s go do a few kettle bell exercises.”
“What is their purpose?” Ralph asked.
“They are great for the core, making you stronger without being bulky.”
“More cut like you?” Ralph asked.
“Something like that.” I didn’t want to break his excitement by letting him know that it took me years to get this body; it wasn’t something that could happen in two months.
I gave him light kettle bells on purpose, saying I didn’t want him to strain his back since he’d never done them before. Right next to him, a younger girl was swinging 30 pound kettle bells and Ralph’s were only 10. I knew it was getting to his ego, and I delighted in it. It was good for the prick to get knocked down a peg or two, especially when he didn’t realize it.
It wasn’t hard for me to avoid the mature part of my brain that knew I shouldn’t get so much joy from trying to embarrass a guy who was seriously looking for a good workout. I let my guard down and something shocking came out: if Lina was worth fighting for, I wanted to win against a real man, not someone I was sabotaging with juvenile folly.
“Okay, you’re set. Now let’s really test out where you’re at,” I said, changing my tone and growing serious.
“With what?” Ralph asked. He seemed more unnerved by my serious nature than the side of me that was more like a frat guy pulling a prank. Interesting. He didn’t trust me. Was there a good reason for that?
“A few tap-out cycles,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“You’re going to do one set of an exercise, doing as many as you can while maintaining a good form. I’ll show you the technique and then you’ll go. Just a word of caution—you will probably be pretty damn sore tomorrow.”
“It’s worth it for Lina,” Ralph said.
He sounded so sincere and my fist clenched. I wanted to punch him. However, I’d committed to making him the best I could. I’d deal with the fact that I’d said I wanted to fight for her later. I don’t know what she’d done to me, but it was official and I couldn’t deny it any longer. If Lina would have me, I would gladly take her. Perhaps she wasn’t as loyal to Ralph as I thought she was.
Chapter 5
After my workout session with Bixby, I put all thoughts of him aside. Didn’t want it to ruin my week. So, it was another day and was under way just as I had planned it. Today I was going to work early so I could leave early to go and take advantage of a round of golf with Matt and then we were going to go to the Mariner’s play-off game. A new determination had come over me since I had accepted that I was interested in pursuing Lina and trying to win her over the proper way. It wasn’t a pure thought since she was engaged to another man, but if we were meant to be together…
I walked into my office and the door was unlocked. Brandi must have arrived early, too, which usually meant she had something to talk with me about. Was it review and raise time again? Yes, I thought if might have been.
Looking to the left to where Brandi’s desk was I saw that it was empty. Then I turned to the right and saw someone sitting on the couch. Long legs and alluring eyes, confident and gorgeous.
“Lina, what a surprise.”
“Yes, I’d imagine that it is. You’re a hard man to catch up with,” she said. She stood up and was smiling at me, her bag slung over her shoulder and her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, looking so casual and carefree, and still so damn appealing.
“My schedule is crazy, often unpredictable. It is hard for others to grasp at times.”
“Oh, I’ve grasped it, Simon. I’m starting to think you don’t have time to take on new clients.”
“In emergency situations, yes, but a lot of them wait for a year to see me.”
“No one can compete with the famous, Dr. Sessions, huh?”
She had a smile in her eyes that spread across her face, as she looked at me teasingly.
“Something like that,” I said. “My day is booked, though, I’m sorry I can’t see you right now.”
“Great news! I am not here for an appointment, just to give you something. I’ve actually found out all the information I need to know through some other sources and a bit of investigation.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s great. Come on back to my office. Where’s Brandi, I wonder.”
“She ran down to the café for a coffee. You’re all out.”
“It sounds like you know more about what’s happening in my office than me,” I said, laughing softly. I felt so good and at ease now. I was eager to talk with Lina and really connect with her as a woman and stop just thinking of her as my sexual conquest. Now that she didn’t need my help as a therapist I could focus much more clearly.
“So, what brings you by?” I asked once we were in my office and sitting on the couch where I only talked with my clients.
“First, I want to thank you for training with Ralph yesterday. He cannot stop talking about it. I must say, you made quite the impression on him.”
“Oh, it was my pleasure. Sometimes a bit of good advice is just what’s required to get you started on the path to change.”
“Apparently you have quite the set of abs. I couldn’t help but chuckle when Ralph was describing it. Needless to say, he wasn’t as amused as me.”
“That’s kind to say,” I said.
“Do you know how much you’ve motivated him?”
“No, I can’t say I do, Lina.”
“He nearly made love to me.” She squealed like a school girl and I didn’t see a trace of that shy, nervous woman standing in front of me at all. It must have shone on my face because she added, “Sorry, that’s kind of bold, isn’t it?”
“Nothing I haven’t heard before,” I added. I was appalled by her statement, though, and the thought of Ralph touching her was vile. “Working out hard can cause men’s sex drive to go through the roof.”
“All that testosterone, I suppose. Still, it’s kind of funny that I’ve had to hear my fiancé rambling on about how he wishes he had your body. Nothing strange about that, is there?” Lina started laughing again and it was so enchanting that I couldn’t help but laugh, too. “And, he was so manly and alpha last night, so aggressive in our little encounter.” She started fanning herself.
“I am assuming you didn’t just come down here to compliment me on my body, or your fiancé’s love of it, I should say.”
“No, I did not. I guess the sex part is normal for your day. The reason I’m here is because I have something I want to give you.”
Your body, I hope. “Hmmm, I’m curious,” I said.
I watched Lina open up her bag and she pulled out a small box and there was a dark blue velvet ribbon on the top of it, securing it so the box couldn’t open up. “This is for you. Now, I’ve got to get going. Hope to see you around.”
She walked out of my office and I stared at her the entire way, rubbing the velvet ribbon with my thumb. The woman I was drawn to was growing closer to her fiancé and in part, it was due to what I was doing to help him be better. It was a sickening feeling. I was also bummed that she didn’t want me as a therapist now. It should have been me making that decision, not her. I guess that I had in a way by rescheduling our appointments so much.
I looked down and opened up the box and pulled out two tickets. Were they for the two of us to go somewhere? There was no note. I looked to see what they were for and read them:
The Caller
Starring Lina Lee and written by Lina Lee
Fantastic. This was her play. That was kind of her to invite me and I was very excited to see what her play was about. I also debated if that was something I should take a date to. I had a week to figure it out.
I set the box down and realized how little I really knew about Lina. I’d only heard about this play in passing and had no idea what it was about. How could I be so captivated by someone who really didn’t offer me up that much information, not compared to how easily other women offered up every detail of their lives to me, anyway.
Chapter 6
As a surprise for her birthday, I decided that I should take my mother to see Lina’s play with me. We didn’t get to hang out too often and who better to take on a date to the theater than her, the one person who wouldn’t expect more out of me? It was perfect and she was delighted by it.
Before the play, we went to dinner at her favorite restaurant, Canlis, for an indulgent meal before the show.
“This is so special,” she said, looking at me with a smile on her face.
“It’s long overdue,” I replied. Then a fan came over and asked for my autograph, which I quickly gave and then turned my attention back to my mother.
“You do have a lot of fans, don’t you?” I saw her blushing, even in the dim light. It was a lot for her to take in that her son had chosen a sex therapist as an avenue of success; however, it had shown that I was capable of making a great deal of money on my own, not having to rely on the family business. Honestly, I think that disappointed them, as they would have preferred me to go to Harvard Business School and eventually take over for my father. That did not interest me in the least.
“I suppose it’s a bit much when you’re not used to it,” I said.
“Are you always so nice to them?”
“I try to be. The last thing I need is bad PR for being a jackass to one of them.”
“Watch your tongue,” my mother reprimanded. She tried to look shocked, but she couldn’t hide the smile very well.
“Well, wouldn’t you be angry at me if I didn’t act like a gentleman at all times? I’d like to say you’d raised me well.”
“Touché,” she replied, raising up her glass of Merlot to salute me.
I nodded my head and we continued talking until our meals came and then it got a bit quieter as we enjoyed the savory fares we’d chosen to dine on that evening; butternut squash for my mother and sea bass for me. As always, the food was fantastic and then we each enjoyed a desert before heading to the theater. In the back of my Jaguar, I’d bought a dozen white roses to give Lina after the show and was excited for the chance to officially introduce her to my mother. Not because I wanted or needed her approval, but because it was impossible to avoid in such a situation. My mother would definitely enjoy it, giving her good fodder for her morning bridge game at the club. Plus Dad had already met Lina and was impressed by her.
One hour later, we were being escorted to our seats, which were third row in, front and center. I grabbed the playbill and began to read, exploring what Lina’s play was about. It read:
Lina Lee is the writer and lead in this five cast play, which gives a fun, unique twist on a therapist and their whimsical way of helping clients. Think of a modern day Twelfth Night with a splash of zest and you’ll get the idea.
“This sounds very interesting,” my mother said.
“Indeed, I’m trying to correlate Twelfth Night with this. Should be interesting,” I said. “Shakespeare has always been my favorite playwright.”
“These creative sorts are always so intriguing, aren’t they?”
I only nodded my head in agreement. My mother couldn’t have stated that more truthfully despite not having a clue about what was going on inside of me regarding Ms. Lina Lee. Twins…one pretending to be a boy…falling in love. I really did not understand the connection, but I would soon find out how the Twelfth Night was aligned with The Caller.
The lights dimmed and the curtain slowly lifted up to the ceiling, revealing an office that had a desk, a large picture window behind it with the skyline of Seattle showing, and two leather couches and a few filing cabinets. It looked an awful lot like my office. That was sweet of Lina to be inspired by that and it made me smile.
A spotlight shone on one person and I saw that it was Lina, only she was dressed like a man. She had on a suit and tie, polished loafers, and a wig that made her look like a metrosexual transsexual. Interesting, and she looked pretty cute wearing a suit, I had to admit. Umm where was Lina going with this, I wonder.
A voice called out from behind stage, “Dr. Simmons, your appointment is here.”
“Very well, send her in,” Lina’s voice called out in her own voice. She wasn’t even trying to act like a man.
“Hello Mrs. Fahn, it’s wonderful to see you,” Dr. Simmons said.
“Oh, Bart, you know you can call me Mitzy,” she replied sweetly.
“Catch me up on what’s been happing since last week, Mitzy.”
“Well, I mentioned to Ralph that it may be fun to go and experiment a bit, do something risky, you know.” Mitzy laughed and continued talking. “But he wasn’t keen on it.”
“No? What did he say,” Dr. Simmons asked.
“He said not during the game, what was the matter with me?”
“Then what?”
“I asked after the game and he said he was tired.” She shrugged her arms up in the air. “I surrender. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Do you know?”
“I don’t think there is anything wrong with you at all. You two had to connect better at one time. You have five children after all. What did you do?”
“Well, he wasn’t a CEO of a company yet and I wasn’t very willing to stand up and fight for what I really wanted.”
“So, you’ve both changed. It sounds like it’s for the better, but it’s separated you further.”
“He seems so content, though,” Mitzy said.
“But if you’re not, just don’t accept it any longer. Simply put, make him want you or else find someone else that appreciates you for who you are.”
“Simple?” Mitzy said. She stood up and began to pace around the stage. “Simple is deciding on ranch dressing or French, Oscar de la Renta or Vera Wang.”
I looked over at my mother, who had started laughing. She was definitely enjoying herself, but I wasn’t so sure that I was. She whispered a comment. “Men definitely don’t know women. Now I get it.”
Everyone else seemed to get it, too, and I was starting to feel like the inspiration behind a joke. This play was satirical and an indirect jab at male therapists—correct that, male therapists who had female clientele, like me.
More jokes continued and there were also serious moments, where the therapist was helping their clients, responding like a w
oman despite looking like a man. The audience soaked it up and I felt like I was wearing a satire repellant suit, not wanting to absorb anything that was happening on stage.
I finally succumbed to half listening and going on autopilot, giving chuckles when everyone else laughed. If my mother wouldn’t have been with me, I would have turned around and walked out of there. Plus, there were people around us who knew who I was. Was I paranoid or were they turning around and looking at me?
My face was burning up, but the worse part was knowing how Lina really felt about me. If this was a romance novel, my heart would be shattering, and I would be confessing how much I wanted her, etc. But this was real life, and now… all kinds of emotions were going through me. Including a deep sense of hurt. It was worse when the hurt came from someone you cared about a lot. Clearly, I had misread Lina when I thought she might like me. She didn’t want therapy; she wanted to get banter for her play. I was disgusted and embarrassed and in unfamiliar territory. That was manageable but knowing that Lina had such a low opinion of me was the most devastating thing I’d experienced in a long time. If Mom wasn’t here, I would have left. This time for good.
